Fit or sit? Is there a psychology of sedentary behaviour?

Abstract

A recent trend in the literature on health behaviours has been the rapid rise in interest in very low ‘activity’ – that is, ‘sedentary behaviour’, or ‘sitting time’. High or prolonged levels of sitting may pose significant health risks and these have often been shown to be apparent even when physical activity levels meet conventional guidelines. This suggests that we need to better understand what influences physical activityandsedentary behaviour, and we should not assume that the same factors will influence both.In this paper I will address the following questions:What is sedentary behaviour?What psychological factors might be associated with sedentary behaviour?What approaches might be used to reduce sedentary behaviour?There is a dearth of psychological research on sedentary behaviour, but what there is points to some significant differences from physical activity. This is consistent with evidence showing that these two domains of behaviour are largely independent.